Opioid Prescribing Resources for Emergency Departments

The New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released the NYC Emergency Department Discharge Opioid Prescribing Guidelines in January, 2013. Developed with an expert clinical advisory panel of emergency department (ED) physicians, the guidelines provide recommendations for opioid analgesic prescribing to patients being discharged from EDs.

These guidelines adapted general Health Department guidance on opioid prescribing for the ED setting given the vital role of the ED in treating patients with painful medical conditions. The goal of these guidelines is to reduce adverse health consequences of prescription opioid analgesic use, including opioid dependence and overdose — problems that have reached epidemic proportions in the United States and in New York City. The guidelines are not meant for patients in palliative care programs or with cancer pain. They do not replace clinical judgment in the appropriate care of patients nor are they intended to provide guidance on the management of patients while they are in the ED. Links to the guidelines and accompanying materials can be found below.

Many NYC hospital emergency departments have already adopted the guidelines. Here is a list of
these institutions:

  • Bellevue Hospital Center
  • Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center
  • Brooklyn Hospital Center
  • Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center
  • Coney Island Hospital
  • Elmhurst Hospital Center
  • Flushing Hospital Medical Center
  • Forest Hills Hospital
  • Harlem Hospital Center
  • Jacobi Medical Center
  • Jamaica Hospital Medical Center
  • Kings County Hospital Center
  • Lenox Hill Hospital
  • Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center
  • Long Island Jewish Medical Center
  • Lutheran Medical Center
  • Maimonides Medical Center
  • Metropolitan Hospital Center
  • Montefiore Medical Center
  • New York Community Hospital
  • New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens
  • New York Methodist Hospital
  • New York-Presbyterian/Allen Hospital
  • New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center
  • New York-Presbyterian/ Lower Manhattan Hospital
  • New York-Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Medical Center
  • New York University Langone Medical Center
  • North Central Bronx Hospital
  • Queens Hospital Center
  • Richmond University Medical Center
  • Saint Barnabas Hospital
  • Saint John's Episcopal Hospital
  • Staten Island University Hospital, North Site
  • Staten Island University Hospital, South Site
  • SUNY Downstate Medical Center
  • Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center